Escape to where the locals go and take advantage of the jungle on your doorstep on Khao Lak holidays

Devour a delicious curry in a family-run restaurant, chase waterfalls in a national park or nest on soft sands where there’s hardly anyone else around. Khao Lak has everything you need for a low-key holiday; it’s essentially a handful of small town centres and a 15-mile stretch of beaches along one main road. There’s an effortless balance of quiet and convenience, the kind of place visitors slowly fall in love with and return to year after year.

If you love the outdoors, Khao Lak is the perfect gateway to both tropical jungles and stunning underwater worlds. Just two hours’ drive or boat ride means you could be snorkelling or diving in the Surin and Similan Islands – the best place for marine life in the Andaman Sea – or trekking through the rainforest of Khao Sok National Park. At Elephant Hills, you can go glamping in the jungle, sleep on a lake to the sound of calling monkeys and get up close with elephants in one of earth’s oldest rainforests.

Talk to us and we can help you find the best beach spot or jungle adventure for a bespoke holiday in Khao Lak.

A chilled-out beach resort just an hour from Phuket

Quiet sandy beaches and night markets along one main road

A choice of family-friendly resorts and boutique hideaways

An excellent base for snorkelling and diving around the Surin and Similan Islands

Ideal combined with trekking in Khao Sok National Park’s jungles.

Top hotels in Khao Lak

Best time to visit Khao Lak

Khao Lak is hot year-round. The peak season here is between November and February when the climate is drier and slightly cooler. The wonderful Similan and Surin National Marine Parks can usually be visited from November to mid-May – they're closed for conservation during other months. May to October sees high rainfall. This is the time to benefit from the greatest value offers and less crowded beaches, but you'll need to be a little more flexible with your plans, which may need to be rescheduled if there's heavy rain.

Khao Lak holiday highlights

Khao Lak is a refreshingly uncrowded tourist destination close to the Phang-Nga area’s rugged natural beauty. It’s made up of a few towns and white-sand beaches – all scattered along a 15-mile stretch so no spot ever feels too busy. For travellers who like their holidays low-key, Khao Lak’s easygoing, local feel is enticing enough to return year after year.

There’s a good choice of quality local restaurants and shopping at the two main centres, Bang La On and Bang Niang, which are both easily reached from most resorts by taxi. The regular night market at Bang Niang is a popular stop for shopping or a late-night snack, or you can go further afield to the Sunday market at Takua Pa Old Town where stalls are set up among pretty Sino-Portuguese buildings.

Nature lovers can soak up the slower pace and go hiking around Chong Fah’s waterfalls or combine the Khao Lak’s beaches with a few nights in the incredible Khao Sok National Park. Home to elephant sanctuaries, one of the oldest rainforests in the world and floating camps like the one at the award-winning Elephant Hills, Khao Sok is a delight for anyone with a love for the outdoors. For keen snorkellers and divers, the Surin and Similan Islands are just two hours from Khao Lak by boat. These islands are some of the best places to dive in Thailand and are part of a protected national marine park.

Where is Khao Lak?Khao Lak is on Thailand’s mainland in the beautiful Phang-Nga region on the west coast. It’s an hour north of Phuket and stretches across 15 miles of the Andaman coastline. The easiest way to get to Khao Lak is a road transfer from Phuket airport (around an hour), which is linked by international flights from the UK and domestic flights of Bangkok (approx. 1½ hours). From Khao Lak, you can reach Krabi by road in around 2½ hours and Khao Sok National Park in two hours, while the Surin and Similan Islands are 1 to 2 hours from Khao Lak by boat for excellent snorkelling and diving. With a tropical climate that’s similar to Phuket’s, Khao Lak is affected by the south-west monsoon and is generally warm year round. See our best time to visit guide for information on Khao Lak’s weather by month.

Getting around Taxis and tuk-tuks are the best way to get around Khao Lak. Local taxis are generally cheaper than hotel taxis; it’s good practice to agree on a price beforehand. A speedboat is the fastest way to get to the Surin and Similan Islands.

Diving & snorkelling Khao Lak has easy access to the Surin Islands and the Similan Islands, which are collectively some Thailand’s best areas for diving and snorkelling. As part of a protected national marine park, both parks are open between 15 October and 15 May and are reached by around 1½ hour’s speedboat ride from Tab Lamu pier close to Khao Lak. Sea temperatures are warm year-round and visibility can reach over 30 metres during peak season between November and April. Divers can hope to see manta rays, whale sharks, leopard sharks, hawksbill turtles and plenty of tropical fish.

Food & drink Thai cuisine is world-famous, thanks to its distinctive combination of salty, spicy, sweet, bitter and sour flavours. Most hotels and resorts offer American, English and continental breakfasts with Thai savoury dishes like congee (porridge-style rice) and fried rice. Around Khao Lak, there’s a good choice of quality local restaurants serving up authentic local food like pad thai, tom kha soup and fried rice. You can find sweet treats and delicacies at night markets, and Western cuisine is generally easy to find – most resorts and hotels serve familiar favourites at a dedicated restaurant or as à la carte options.

Suggested Khao Lak Tours

All areas in Thailand

Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai

Dawn breaks and a sea of monks swathed in orange and saffron robes make the journey to the bottom of Mount Suthep to collect their alms. Scooters whizz past gilded wats (temples), the smell of fresh laundry and burning incense wafts from back street houses and stall holders start stacking up dried spices, fresh green peppercorns and oversized melons. Outside the city, Chiang Mai holidays take you where the air is mountain fresh and the climate joyfully cooler, tracing a route of waterfalls, jungle, hill tribe villages and temples.
We’ve travelled to northern Thailand and can tell you the most amazing spots for a refreshing dip under a secluded waterfall, the finest holy temples to visit for a one-on-one chat with Buddhist monks and the quirkiest cafes if you’ve ever fancied jumping in a ball pit while sipping on a candy cotton coffee. Holidays to Chiang Mai are a captivating blend of Lanna and Burmese influences, of digital nomads building a burgeoning creative scene and of spiritual harmony in an ancient riverside city that prizes meditation, massage and complementary medicine.
There’s the much revered Thai cookery schools where you can whip up pad thai and coconut soup like a professional, legendary night markets selling handcrafted gifts and those lychee and lemongrass cocktails under a roof of white lanterns and chromatic paper parasols. You’ll find terraced rice fields in the tiny hamlets of mountains, a colourful spectacle of handmade umbrellas in the artisan village of Bor Sang and extraordinary settlements of Tibetan and Chinese hill tribes who welcome you into villages to learn about their culture.

Hua Hin

On Thailand’s beautiful Gulf of Siam and just a few hours by road from Bangkok, Hua Hin is home to a Royal Palace and enjoys long attractive beaches, excellent golf courses, a fine choice of hotels and a superb night market with handicrafts galore.
Renowned as the summer residence of Thailand’s Royal Family, Hua Hin is the epitome of elegance and sophistication. Sequestered by three miles of pristine white sands and tall swaying palms, the city’s beachfront is where holiday makers spend their days. Creating a dramatic backdrop, the string of luxury hotels create the perfect haven of barefoot luxury for its guests, providing sublime vistas of the glistening ocean.

Koh Yao Yai & Koh Yao Noi

Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful experiences of Thailand is to escape to one of the smaller islands that offer some of the best and most unspoilt beaches, as well as clear waters and a laid back pace of life. Despite being a little more off the beaten track, in Koh Yao Yai, standards are in no way compromised, offering stunning views and a relaxed and peaceful environment.

Koh Phangan

Escaping the southern shore where the famed monthly Full Moon Party is held, Koh Phangan’s northern shore offers an idyllic break with picturesque bays, secluded beaches and thick jungle that winds its way inland.

Bangkok

Zip down the streets in a colourful, tassel-lined tuk-tuk, passing Starbucks and food stalls selling grilled pork skewers for breakfast. Once you reach your destination, you approach the entrance of the resplendent Grand Palace, a gilded masterpiece in the middle of a clamorous capital.
A city that feels alive day and night, Bangkok offers a lot more than your average stopover destination. Most travellers stop for a few days before heading on to Northern Thailand or to southern beaches like Koh Samui or Phuket – days that can easily be filled up with visiting beautiful temples, navigating night markets and sampling Bangkok’s famous food. Street food is a staple all over the city so you don’t need to look hard for authentic cuisine, and the recent introduction of the Michelin-guide has only cemented the city’s place on the culinary city hall of fame.
Talk to us and we’ll help create a Bangkok holiday to suit your travelling style.

Koh Samui

Koh Samui is a name-drop-worthy island of palm trees, emerald-tinged waters and sultry weather that elicits a languid, lazing-by-the-pool kind of pace. There’s sunshine and tropical warmth almost all year round because it avoids the main monsoon season. This means you can pack light: swimwear, SPF and plenty of room for souvenirs.
Koh Samui is a microcosm of Thailand’s beaches. Travellers love it for the white-gold sands, tourist-friendly towns and variety of hotels complete with infinity pools and world-class restaurants. Waterfalls and walking trails inland give you a taste of Thailand’s tropical and rugged mainland, and offshore, you can go kayaking and snorkelling around the karsts in Ang Thong National Marine Park. Even if you’ve opted for a resort tucked away on a quieter part of the island, the night markets and live music bars of Chaweng and Lamai are just a taxi ride away.
Talk to us and we’ll help craft a personalised itinerary for your Koh Samui holiday.

Krabi holidays

The province of Krabi is just a one-hour flight to the south of Bangkok, set on the shores of the glorious Andaman Sea. Relatively low-key compared to the likes of Phuket, Krabi’s main resort town is bustling Ao Nang, but the region also plays host to the beautiful isthmus of Railay and peaceful offshore islands.

Phuket

Peering out of the plane window, a surprising sight awaits. You might be just an hour from Bangkok, but suddenly the high-rise buildings have disappeared and in its place – an idyll of jade-coloured sea and islands topped with forest green. This is Phuket, Thailand’s biggest island and most popular destination for nightlife and golden beaches.
The word ‘busy’ sums up Phuket nicely. Travellers arrive as though en masse; you only need to step foot in Patong, the original party beach resort, before noticing everyone else. Most first-timers visiting Thailand feel drawn to Phuket and for many, its raucousness is part of its attraction. If you’re curious, you can stroll down one of the main nightclub stretches and watch the spectacle of neon lights, beer bars and dancing, but on an island this big it’s also easy enough to keep away from the hedonism. Stroll around a night market, sampling delicious Thai food and bartering for souvenirs; or spend a day getting into Phuket Town’s growing arts-and-crafts scene. And if you want a dazzling beach with the option of venturing into populated spots when you feel like it, you only need to head 20 minutes north or south down the coast before you find gorgeous, infinitely quieter beaches.
However you want to experience Phuket, talk to us and we’ll help plan your ideal Phuket holiday.

Koh Samet

Thailand’s northern beaches offer a mix of intriguing culture and superb beach hideaways. If you’re looking for the ultimate romantic escape, Koh Samet offers an idyllic island break away from it all and is great if you don't want to hop back aboard a plane after a visit to Bangkok.

2 Hotels

The Kuoni Difference

We believe no two holidays should be the same and a human touch can make all the difference.

We take the time to get to know you so we can help you plan an unforgettable holiday.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provide the latest travel advice by country including safety and security, entry requirements, travel warnings and health. For the latest FCO advice please refer to www.gov.uk/travelaware

Current travel health information can be found by visiting www.travelhealthpro.org.uk a resource set up by the Department of Health. The advice can change on all sites so please check regularly for updates.